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Social TV is definitely the buzzword these days! From television executives to digital marketing experts, everyone is talking about it and the big boys like Motorola and Spacenet (among others of course) are working on how to tie all these social media platforms together.

Social television is not related to "socialism" (as the word is used in political circles), but is a broad term referring to technologies that support social interactions among viewers - a new and different way of connecting with people that some say is the future of television.

With this new form of social media, it appears that a huge shift in power from the television and media networks to "the people" has already occurred as more and more consumers are cancelling their cable subscriptions and figuring out how to use their computers and TVs together.

So, just what is social television?

How does it work? What are its advantages?

Social TV is the union of television and social media. It refers to the phenomenon of people communicating with each other while watching a TV show or discussing with each other about television content using the Internet as a medium of communication.

Some people call it Immersive TV and others say Online TV, or Interactive TV.

It is basically like watching television with your family and friends.

Only in this case, you are virtually connecting with people from different parts of the world or maybe your next door neighbor, all with the help of the Internet.

Is it the same as Internet TV, Internet Protocol TV, or Web TV?

No, it is not. Internet TV allows you to watch a TV show by streaming the content to a media player or by downloading it to your computer. Internet Protocol TV is a system that uses the internet, instead of satellite or cable, to deliver television services. Web TV is a system that allows you to watch web-based television shows and programs online.

However, there is some ambiguity here because manufacturers are rolling out new TVs with integrated internet capabilities for television that offer more advanced computing abilities and connectivity than your contemporary basic television. Although they are often called Internet TVs, the correct term is Smart TV.

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"There are six different types of social media: collaborative (Wikipedia), blogs and microblogs (Twitter), content communities (YouTube), Social Networking sites (Facebook), virtual game worlds (World of Warcraft), and virtual social worlds (Second Life).

Technologies include blogs, picture-sharing, vlogs, wall-postings, email, instant messaging, music sharing, crowdsourcing, and voice over IP, to name a few. Many of these social media services can be integrated via social network aggregation platforms." 

Social television relies on the above-mentioned relationships to rebuild TV audiences and it appears that the reconstruction is working. Finally, social equity via social TV - for the people.

As life moves forward with social networking, posting, chatting, friending, gaming and sports, which is a very social activity, television manufacturers and the entertainment industry will jump on the social TV bandwagon bringing innovation and competition to the scene and we, the people, will hopefully be the winners this time around.

Where watching television becomes a two-way form of communication rather than where it is now, one-way with television producers and advertisers deciding what, when and how we watch TV.
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The global social TV market is already a multi-billion dollar industry, with TV giants betting big money on second screen viewing, but the market is set for double-digit growth in the the next five years, according to a report by market research firm MarketsandMarkets. The research firm expects the market to grow from $151.14 billion this year, to $256.44 billion by 2017 — an estimated CAGR of 11.2 percent from 2012 to 2017.

“The future for the television is social through integration of social interaction on the television. Broadcasters are developing and enriching social TV integration; they are targeting the tune-in customer, engagement and their loyalty to boost the rating and they are also discovering the social TV challenge,” the report notes.

Currently Europe grabs the largest slice of social TV market revenue. MarketsandMarkets calculates the region will take $55.48 billion this year, and expects Europe’s portion to grow to $77.74 billion by 2017 — at a CAGR of 7 percent, slightly below the overall market growth rate.

As well as social TV startups attracting big investment from established media and tech industry players, the space is seeing lots of tie-ups between broadcasters and social networking players such as Twitter and Facebook.

“There exists a diversity of players in the Social TV ecosystem, as the industry is open to experiments and is witnessing many a tie-ups between broadcasters and social networking companies.

While some broadcasters are amalgamating Social TV within their own platforms; there are many, who are integrating Twitter into their Social TV platforms for enhanced custom experience and participation. Industry players such as BBC and CNN, on the other hand have signed deals with social networking players such as Facebook, as social networking companies are aggressively trying to venture into this space,” the report notes.

“Social is truly emerging as a coalition of television and social media, wherein newer formats are being developed to enhance viewer engagement and encourage paid transactions. Many media and tech companies such as Hearst, Time Warner, BSkyB, and Google are backing several Social TV startups, with huge investments,” it adds.
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Viewers' growing tendencies to talk about TV in social media and interact on a second screen as they watch presents big opportunities for networks and marketers -- but there are two big issues that need to be dealt with first. Various social-TV metrics can turn up inconsistent results. And the true interaction between social TV and ratings remains a subject of hot debate.

Mr Silverman: Social TV is an incredibly powerful force, but measurement is in its infancy. We are currently looking for ways to gather more meaningful data and context. At A&E we use data points from Trendrr, Social Guide and Bluefin, but there are inconsistencies in the data.

The industry is fixated on a causal relationship between social-media buzz and linear ratings, but a causal relationship hasn't been proven yet. The distinction needs to be made between causality and correlation. A lot more research needs to be done. The most cited survey from NM Incite and Nielsen, which says that a 9% increase in buzz volume a few weeks prior to a show's premiere correlates to a 1% ratings increase among viewers 18-34, didn't even use Twitter data. There is so much potential if we move to more mature metrics and agree on a measurement set.

Ad Age: What's the most exciting advancement in social TV to date?

Mr. Silverman: The most exciting thing in social TV right now is social-programming guides that leverage social data to recommend content. With these apps, social data becomes empirical and not just supportive. The rollout of Zeebox is a move in the industry of allowing viewers to interact beyond just checking into shows and saying they are watching it.

Ad Age: Where does Facebook fit in all of this?

Mr. Silverman: Facebook is the elephant in the room. It has tremendous potential to provide networks and media buyers context, rankings and aggregate data. Currently, there's no great way to measure and monitor the volume of conversations on that platform. Twitter data is primarily public. I'm not suggesting Facebook should make its data public, but they could anonymously aggregate it in a way that shows the number of people talking about a certain show and compare it to other networks. This would allow us to present it to media buyers and monetize social chatter.
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The panel finished with a few words of advice for all those looking to social TV:

Bill Gannon, Managing Editor, EW.com

I tend to be bullish in this space. We see this as a rich opportunity to bring our editorial voice into a brand new space. This is a second golden age of social media for a lot of us.

Jesse Redniss, Senior VP of Digital, USA Networks/ NBC Universal

You really to focus on story telling. Harnessing the power of these social platforms is all there. Just stay focused and follow your passion.

Shenan Reed, CMO, Morpheus Media

The opportunity for advertisers is there but agencies need to push the envelope for clients. Advertisers need to be experimenting and jump on this wave.

Brad Pelo, CEO, i.tv

We're still in the experimentation phase. Survivors of the dot com years were surprising so we won't know who will survive this phase. Merging will be the next strand as we can't keep up with all the social graphs we have now.

Lou Paskalis, VP, Global Media Content Development & Sponsorship

Approach social TV with your brand DNA in mind. What is your expertise and where can you be relevant? Cover what you can afford. It's not just money but resource. In the short run failure is an option but in the long run it is not. Social TV is a real game changer for all of us. Get out and fail now as you don't want to fail later.
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